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Dec 15 - Dec 22,2002 |
Spotlighting strength of Italian language
AATI held a successful Canadian conference with representatives from the U.S. and Italy
By Antonio Maglio
Originally Published: 2002-11-17
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Li Preti with Mollica and Kleinhenz
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For four days, some 200 teachers from the United States, Canada and Italy discussed Italian literature, language, cinema, theatre, and the teaching of Italian as a second language.
The occasion was the annual meeting of the American Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI), organized this year by Professor Anthony Mollica, who chaired AATI for years. The event was put together in collaboration with the Canadian Society of Italian Studies and supported by, among others, the "Emilio Goggio" Chair of the Department of Italian Studies at the University of Toronto, the "Mariano Elia" Chair at York University and Toronto's Istituto Italiano di Cultura.
AATI is the oldest institution devoted to promoting Italian language, literature and culture in North America. It was founded in 1925 and its membership now includes 1,500 members, both individuals and institutions, in 24 countries. Its publications are justly famous; The Teaching of Italian in the United States (1967) by Joseph G. Fucilla, for instance, is still a fundamental reference for the presence of Italian in North American universities.
The meetings normally take place in the United States, but recently Italy has also held several of them. In 1995 the meeting took place in Chianciano Terme, with one-day sessions in Siena and Perugia; then there was one in Crotone, and last year in Treviso and Venice. This year was Canada's turn.
Many innovations were introduced this year, such as the opening remarks in the three central days. They were given by Angela Bianchini, author of Nel cuore del secolo tra Stati Uniti e Canada; Professor Maurizio Dardano, from the Third University of Rome (Tradizione e innovazione nella lingua italiana del Terzo Millennio); and Professor Carlo Tagliabue, of Perugia's University for Foreigners (Il cinema č arte: l'Italia del Novecento costruita dalle immagini della settima arte).
Finally, Professor Mollica was presented with the prestigious AATI Distinguished Service Award for his contribution to the study of Italian in North America. Previous recipients of this award include scholars Aldo Bernardo, Giovanni Cecchetti, Edoardo A. Lebāno, Robert Melzi, Julius A. Molinaro, Olga Ragusa, Joseph Tursi and poet Joseph Tusiani. Molinaro and Mollica are the only Italian-Canadians thus recognized.
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